How many Canadians moved to stx

Hello
My wife and I are planning to make the jump to the island,
What are some of the forgotten costs of living there. We are hoping to pay cash for our house, so no morg, and we are pretty much laid back kind of ppl with our four dogs
Any info greatly appreciated
Thanks

It's difficult to say what "costs of living" you may have forgotten without knowing which ones you "remembered".

However, in additional to things like food, household supplies, electricity (can be high if you use A/C), internet, phone (either landline, cell or both) you may want to consider such things as housekeeping, lawn & yard care and upkeep (either doing it yourself or hiring someone), a car and car repairs, insurance (home/car/liability/storm), medical costs, supplemental water if your cistern runs dry, general home repairs and maintenance which has to be done more often than "back home", pest control, plumbing repairs, Pool service/upkeep (assuming you have one) and a myriad of other little expenses

You should also budget for replacement of furnishings, appliances and electronics, re-painting, re-fabricing of drapes & upholstery, replacement of bedding and bed linens, towels - all of which will wear out much faster due to exposure to heat, the strong sun and salt spray in the air.

On top of all that, there is almost ALWAYS a little adventure that island life has in store for your checkbook each month (or maybe even every week). Something is always breaking down, needing replacement or just plain not working such as the worn out bearing in your cistern pump , the keyboard on your computer that spontaneously no longer responds to some of the letter, the toaster that just dies, anything with a mother board that gets "fried" because of all the power surges, the freezer that loses it's coolant, the new tire you have to purchase because you hit one of the many potholes, the exorbitant $150 Fed-EX bill you incur to ship the $15 part from somewhere in the US you need to fix your refrigerator so your food doesn't spoil. These are a few of the examples but you get the idea.

I see where you have 4 dogs, well don't forget regular vet care as well as periodic treatments for ticks & fleas and lord knows what else.

For what it is worth, I consider myself very lucky when a week goes by when I didn't have to fix something.

Good luck following your dream Do a lot of research so your dream doesn't become a nightmare. Start by clicking on all of the dropdown menus at the top of this page. Start on the left and work your way across to the right. There's tons of helpful info there - read it all. Browse through this forum, there are 10's of 1,000's of threads covering every conceivable subject and address every question you have and 100's more you haven't even thought of yet.

Island life is very different from life back in Canada some people adapt others don't. For those that can adapt it can be a pleasant experience.

If you are capable of diagnosing and fixing your own stuff it can help stretch your check book a long way. A lot of repairs are simple if you have the right skills. Like replacing the freezer door gasket last month. Was able to order from Sear parts with UPS shipping (bargain rate of $68) and receive in a week. Not tools required. Or the light switches and electrical outlets in the walls that frequently corrode out. Hey that switch worked this morning. Easy Peasy.

There are no individual health insurance plans available for us US citizens in the VI but I think real ex-pats can get them. Lots of threads on that discussion as well.

Windstorm/Earthquake/Flood insurance on top of regular fire/liability. Those are fun bills to pay.

My wife is from Canada and we both live in the states, although she works in Canada still. I think the prices for food and other necessities will not shock you as your cost of living is much higher than Buffalo NY and some of the prices as compared to here don't shock me either.

My question, is how are you going to live there? Are you both Canadian, how do you plan on getting a permanent resident alien card? It was a nightmare to get my wife and her daughter here and I live in the states, whereas I'm not sure of your situation.

We are planning to permanently move once the daughter is out of college, I want sooner but the mother in my wife will not let us :).

Home pricing also will be lower than your accustomed to, unless your buying that 2 plus million beach house. Good luck with your journey.

Hello
My wife and I are planning to make the jump to the island,
What are some of the forgotten costs of living there. We are hoping to pay cash for our house, so no morg, and we are pretty much laid back kind of ppl with our four dogs
Any info greatly appreciated
Thanks

The cost of living is much cheaper down here than back in Canada. Taxes are substantially less but no universal healthcare. Its easy to get expat insurance or travel health insurance.

If you don't have status in the US, you can only stay for 6 months at a time as a visitor I think.